TODAY, JULY 4th IS INDEPENDENCE DAY, MARKING THE FOUNDING OF OUR GREAT NATION. ENJOY THE PARADES, THE HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS, THE TIME SPENT WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS, AND THE FIREWORKS. BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT FREEDOM IS NOT FREE, NOR IS IT THE NATURAL STATE OF MAN. IN ORDER TO PROPERLY HONOR OUR FOREBEARS, AND TO PRESERVE THE LEGACY BEQUETHED TO US, WE MUST ALWAYS BE VIGILANT AGAINST AN ALWAYS EVER ENCROACHING GOVERNMENT. LET FREEDOM RING!
“Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.”
–Ronald Reagan
Two hundred fifty (250) years ago, a group of men meeting in Philadelphia declared the 13 American colonies’ independence from Great Britain, publishing the Declaration of Independence. At the time this action was deemed a suicide pact, as Great Britain was the world’s most formidable military and economic power, and the idea that the colonies could ever actually effect a separation was laughable.
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” (The final line of the Declaration of Independence).
The Continental Congress’s delegates were brave and honorable men. They were willing to risk everything for the principle of living as free and independent men. Having been denied by their own government the rights of Englishmen previously won at Runnymede in 1215, these men acted to reclaim those rights, and in so doing, established the heretofore unheard of principle that rights came from God, and not from a monarch, and that the power to govern flowed from the consent of the governed, and not from the governor. It was a monumental moment.
Reflecting on the day, delegate John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail:
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty; it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
And so it became, and continues to this day, our national celebration. Today as we gather with family and friends at parades and cook outs, may we remember the bravery our Founding Fathers exhibited in acting to seize the freedoms we enjoy today. Let us not place our faith in D.C. politicians (or for that matter, Richmond, Sacramento, Tallahassee, Austin, Raleigh, Columbia, et al. politicians), but in God, and also in ourselves. If our local communities are to thrive and prosper, the effort must come from us, acting to defend and exercise our God given rights which have made this the greatest country on Earth. We must jealously guard our freedoms, as history teaches us that government, any government, will act to suppress liberty if vigilance by the people is not maintained. Let us never forget the words of President Ronald Reagan, who reminded us that “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL!
GFK
Observations From The Fifth Estate 